Reigning NBA finalist despite being number 8 seed, Miami once again struggling to get the season off to a good start. After 20 matches, the Florida franchise is only in 7th place in the East, with a record of 11 wins and 9 losses. A start which is obviously not to the taste of Jimmy Butler.
“ We are where we don't want to be and it's very poor “, judged this Saturday franchise player of Heat, coming out of a heavy defeat against the Pacers where his defense completely plunged. “ It's not good or bad or great, it's just mediocre. Our attack? She was mediocre. Our defense? She was mediocre. So that’s the word I would use. »
Injuries don't help
In mid-November, when Miami was riding a series of seven straight victories, we imagined that this team had launched its season in earnest. Except that injuries continue to hamper the success of this group because, after Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin or even Jimmy Butler, it is Bam Adebayo who has had to be absent for a few matches recently.
“ We had a lot of injuries », regretted in this sense Kyle Lowry, one of those physically spared, without however sounding the alarm. “ We could be better, for sure, but Tyler, Bam and Jimmy missed a few games. So yeah, it could always be better, but we did a good job holding it together. »
An opinion shared elsewhere Josh Richardsonanother solid Heat veteran: “ I think everything is fine “, he added after a loss against Indiana. “ It could be better, except it could also be worse, so you need to be aware of that. But considering how long we've been on the road and how many injuries we've had, I think we can pull off another round of [victoires] if we manage to get everyone back. […] Overall, I think we did a good job. You will inevitably experience matches like [celui face aux Pacers] throughout a season, so now is not the time to overreact. But we're also going to have to sit down and watch the video and figure things out. »
A defense in great difficulty
More often present away (12 matches) than at home (8 matches) since the resumption, the men ofEric Spoelstra are in any case in tough times at the moment, but the Miami coach is not the type to worry too much at this stage of the season either.
“ We're 11-9 and we're where we are in the standings in the East “, he declared simply, wanting his players to take charge especially defensively, while Miami has the worst defensive rating in the NBA for five games (124 points conceded on 100 possessions). “ Our defense was going in a better direction and we need to make sure that's the case. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Tyler Herro | 8 | 34.0 | 44.7 | 41.0 | 88.0 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 22.9 |
| Bam Adebayo | 16 | 33.5 | 52.2 | 33.3 | 81.3 | 2.1 | 7.9 | 9.9 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 22.3 |
| Jimmy Butler | 15 | 33.6 | 46.3 | 40.5 | 88.1 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 21.7 |
| Duncan Robinson | 17 | 29.5 | 48.1 | 44.2 | 83.3 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 14.5 |
| Jaime Jaquez, Jr. | 19 | 26.6 | 52.9 | 39.0 | 87.5 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 12.0 |
| Josh Richardson | 16 | 27.9 | 44.9 | 28.4 | 88.0 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 10.2 |
| Kyle Lowry | 18 | 29.4 | 45.7 | 46.0 | 88.9 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 9.7 |
| Caleb Martin | 9 | 21.6 | 39.5 | 26.7 | 81.8 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 9.0 |
| Kevin Love | 13 | 17.6 | 36.7 | 30.9 | 80.8 | 1.2 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 7.4 |
| Haywood Highsmith | 14 | 23.6 | 43.2 | 33.3 | 84.6 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 6.9 |
| Orlando Robinson | 5 | 13.3 | 55.0 | 100.0 | 75.0 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 5.4 |
| Cole Swider | 3 | 9.5 | 42.9 | 36.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.3 |
| Thomas Bryant | 13 | 12.9 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 5.1 |
| Nikola Jovic | 3 | 15.0 | 36.4 | 50.0 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 4.7 |
| Dru Smith | 9 | 14.5 | 45.5 | 41.2 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
| Jamal Cain | 5 | 14.1 | 47.1 | 22.2 | 40.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.0 |
| Rj Hampton | 1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
